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The Manticore's Vow
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A vain assassin takes an assignment with dire consequences. An aristocratic lady fleeing her past is besieged by pirates. And a manticore princess sets out on a life-changing adventure.
The Manticore’s Vow collects three stories set in the world of Magic of Blood and Sea, all exploring the origins of some of its most memorable characters: Naji, the scarred assassin, Marjani ...more
The Manticore’s Vow collects three stories set in the world of Magic of Blood and Sea, all exploring the origins of some of its most memorable characters: Naji, the scarred assassin, Marjani ...more
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Paperback, 116 pages
Published
June 6th 2019
by Interstellar Flight Press
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It was gr9 to get a new story set in this world (The Manticore's Vow), even if it dragged a bit at times. The other two stories are still very good, and it was fun to revisit them. Definitely check this one out if you liked Magic of Blood and Sea.
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You can read my full review for this (as well as the rest of the series) at my blog, The Writerly Way, here.
Thanks to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
So, this book is a collection of short stories meant to be companions to The Assassin’s Curse series. Overall, the collection was short and sweet, and it was a little hit or miss, but it did provide some more background into the characters in the series that I really wanted more ...more
Thanks to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
So, this book is a collection of short stories meant to be companions to The Assassin’s Curse series. Overall, the collection was short and sweet, and it was a little hit or miss, but it did provide some more background into the characters in the series that I really wanted more ...more

The Manticore's Vow and Other Stories by Cassandra Rose Clarke contains three short stories set in the world of The Assassin's Curse books, recently repackaged as The Magic of Blood and Sea. Although I have read both of the novels in this world, it was several years ago and my memory of them is quite hazy. This means that I was effectively coming to these stories from a stand-alone perspective.
Overall, I found these stories stood alone fine, especially the first two. My favourite story was, with ...more
Overall, I found these stories stood alone fine, especially the first two. My favourite story was, with ...more

My Review: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. The following is my honest review and opinion. Last year I read the Assassin's Curse series but I didn't manage to read any of the novellas, which this book has now combined into one collection. Having already known the characters from the book it was a pleasure to go back and get to know some of their back story. The first story, Manticore's Vow follows Ongraygeeomryn, who I ended up loving in the series,
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While the short stories in this book were good on their own, having read it before getting to the author's first book in the series 'Magic of Blood and Sea', I found I had a very difficult time understanding why the stories ended so abruptly and without true conclusions. Nowhere on the cover or in the book itself does it say that it is a tie-in to another book/series or that it is a prequel of some sort. Because of this, the reader won't find any conclusions to the characters or plot lines.
But ...more
But ...more

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**
This book is a companion book to the Assassin's Curse series. They are a series of short stories which build upon the characters, their backgrounds and who they are as a person.
Each of the novella stories: Manticore's Vow Automaton's Treasure & Witch's Betrayal gives a bit more information on characters found within the Assassins Curse series. They tie in well and ...more
This book is a companion book to the Assassin's Curse series. They are a series of short stories which build upon the characters, their backgrounds and who they are as a person.
Each of the novella stories: Manticore's Vow Automaton's Treasure & Witch's Betrayal gives a bit more information on characters found within the Assassins Curse series. They tie in well and ...more

I'm just so happy that this book exists. With newer authors, web-publishing standalone chapters to get people interested in your book is kind of a must. I often find myself frustrated that these standalone chapters never seem to make it into the finished product, even as extras in the back of the book. Having a short volume that collects the web-published stories needs to become a publishing standard.
The stories themselves? A solid 3 stars. All of them set up the characters that I presume are re ...more
The stories themselves? A solid 3 stars. All of them set up the characters that I presume are re ...more

I haven't read any Cassandra Rose Clarke before, so this was a bit of an introduction. The stories were so fantastical- I loved the premises and the character styles, and I thought it was very inventive. However, I didn't gel well with Clarke's writing style, and I found I could never quite immerse myself in the story. This could possibly be because of my aforementioned in experience with her work - I was very aware that perhaps these stories continued or were more fleshed out in her novels, and
...more

This book is a collection of three short stories in Cassandra Rose Clarke's Magic of Blood and Sea universe. I really enjoyed Clarke's writing style and the way she's given voices and personalities to these characters. My favorite of the collection was definitely The Automaton's Treasure as it really felt like you got to know Marjani without really getting the full story of her past. I feel like this is a great taste of the world and if you've read the novels, then it would expand upon it. All t
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I'm happy I requested this ARC because I discovered a new to me exciting series.
This is an excellent book with an interesting world building and fleshed out characters.
The stories are engrossing and entertaining.
I had some issues because I didn't read the other book in this series and I think missed something.
It was a good reading experience, recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine. ...more
This is an excellent book with an interesting world building and fleshed out characters.
The stories are engrossing and entertaining.
I had some issues because I didn't read the other book in this series and I think missed something.
It was a good reading experience, recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine. ...more

I won this as part of a Goodreads Giveaway!
So I'll get straight to the reason I couldn't give this one 5 stars and that's because I hadn't realized that it was a companion novella to Clarke's other work. That being said- this book had me hooked. The world is masterfully built and the characters are well-fleshed out and developed, even though they appear for only a mere 30 pages or so.
I would absolutely pick up another of Clarke's works as a result of reading this little gem. ...more
So I'll get straight to the reason I couldn't give this one 5 stars and that's because I hadn't realized that it was a companion novella to Clarke's other work. That being said- this book had me hooked. The world is masterfully built and the characters are well-fleshed out and developed, even though they appear for only a mere 30 pages or so.
I would absolutely pick up another of Clarke's works as a result of reading this little gem. ...more

I enjoyed these three short stories and getting glimpses into Ongraygeeomryn's, Marjani's and Naji's befores. I don't feel like they would really work well as stand-alone stories, but if you've read the Assassin's Curse series, you'll probably like these as well!
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Cassandra Rose Clarke is a speculative fiction writer living amongst the beige stucco and overgrown pecan trees of Houston, Texas. She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and in 2008 she completed her master’s degree in creative writing at The University of Texas at Austin. Both of these degrees have served her surprisingly well.
During the summe ...more
During the summe ...more
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